What She Knows
by Oh-no-she-di'ent
Summary: Story about Lorelai and Luke. Who else is there? Pre RR.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.

Few days, Schmew days! Let's get this thing out to the fanfic world! Hope you guys like it.

I remember 2 questions off the top of my head from _Friday the 13th_ reviews. How was my Friday the 13th and, uh, something about do I watch _Emeril _b/c of how I kind of referenced myself. The answer to the 1st: It was okay. Started off a little rocky, but ended better. I had to work most of the day, so I got multiple headaches from that, but it cool overall. Answer to the 2nd: That's the 'Bam' guy, right? No, I don't watch that show, but I always do that little 'self...' thing. I'm retarded like that. Was it just like he does?

Thanks for the reviews, guys. I'm glad you all enjoyed the story.

Okay, on with it. I am really partial to lazy stories w/ LL. A riveting plot is never unappreciated, but lately I've been into writing stories that involve Luke and Lorelai just kinda hanging out. It's probably due to the lack of anything resembling friendship on the real show. This story is about Lorelai and Luke. Anything beyond that, read and see for yourself. Haven't said this in a while, but this may be _mildly _inappropriate for young readers (or a lot depending on your ability to pick up sarcasm :-P ) Enjoy!

**What She Knows**

Luke was in the diner. Nothing new there. He noticed Lorelai as she came through the door and headed toward an open seat at the counter. Her gaze was on the floor as she wiped at her brow, and as soon as she was seated, she lifted both eyes to Luke. She gave him a small smile as she held contact. He looked back to her, devoid of expression as he waited for verbalization that was, indeed, inevitable.

Her eyes fell downward, and she drew in her lips before glancing back to Luke and looking around. Luke sighed and began a slow wipe across the countertop with his trusty towel.

"Are you looking for somebody?" He asked, giving full attention to his own hand movement.

No one was in there, really. She recognized a few faces, but none of the primaries were present. Turning attention back to Luke, she replied, "No. Just you." She said this lightly, in a way that was deserving of very little attention. And, that was precisely what Luke gave it.

"Well, I'm here." He took little time to notice that Lorelai was quieter than normal. She watched his movements the same as he did. After a while of both watching the towel's feature performance, Lorelai looked back to him.

"So, what's been going on with you today?" She asked readying herself for a response.

Luke stopped and looked at her. "Nothing. What about you?" He asked. The question was asked on queue as if he had very little care as to her answer.

Lorelai smiled. "You're having a bad day," she stated softly.

He exhaled loudly. "It's a day. Nothing big. You want some coffee or breakfast or something?" He asked tiredly.

She heard his inquiry, but above all, she was able to hear and decipher his tone of voice. "I'm here if you want to talk," she offered.

"That would imply that I have something to talk _about_. Again I ask, do you want something?" He was trying to fight attitude and was failing miserably. She wondered what could have caused him to have such a disposition, but she knew she could potentially debate that for a while.

Though Spring was right around the corner, Lorelai completely felt the torrent of iciness bouncing from his direction. "Um, I'll take some coffee."

He got her coffee, and she sat staring into the mug. She had come into the diner for a reason, and currently, he wasn't making it very easy for her to follow through. He seemed blunt, which was undoubtedly a sure sign of aggravation. "You're not in a good mood, huh?" She asked looking at him.

"Not really."

She looked at him for a moment. Her eyes widened slightly as she bounced around ideas of how to proceed. She wondered if she should forget about the reason for her visit or if she should confide. It didn't take long for her to settle on the latter. "I actually want to ta--"

"Lorelai," he interrupted evenly, "I'm not really in a banter-filled mood right now. Can we do this later?" He said squeezing his eyes shut for a brief moment in frustration.

She looked to him, her mouth still partially open from her interrupted statement. Of course, he would assume she was getting ready to be comical. _Why wouldn't he? _is the question that caused Lorelai to place an understanding smile on her face while her eyes dropped to the countertop. "Yeah, uh, that's--don't worry about it," she said looking back up to him. "I'm gonna go. I'll see you a little later," she ended. She stood up and picked up her purse before attempting a greater smile and tossing a wave to him on her way out of the door.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Hey, Babe."

"Mom, hi. Are you outside? I hear wind."

"Yeah, I'm outside. How's everything going?" Lorelai asked moving quickly from the subject.

Rory released a curt breath. "Paris is traipsing on my last nerve, but other than that, everything is okay."

Lorelai chuckled. "Really? What did she do this time?"

"This morning I woke up to her going through my closet because she said she saw something crawl in there."

"Ugh. Yale can't afford pest control?" Lorelai asked. "Well, what was wrong with that?" She asked of Rory's statement.

"Nothing would have been _wrong_ with it if she hadn't been following a stupid dust bunny." She heard her mom laugh. "I woke up to my clothes being strewn this way and that, and then when she found out what it was, she didn't even put my stuff back."

"What?" Lorelai asked still laughing.

"Yeah, she said it was sacrificial clothes-shed."

"Are you serious?"

"I wish I wasn't," Rory said shaking her head on the other end.

Lorelai's laughter died down. "Well," she began, "for what it's worth, you brought a smile to Mommy's face."

Rory paused. "Why would Mommy need me to bring about a smile? You live in Stars Hollow. At every turn, there's something worth a few chuckles, at least."

"This is true," Lorelai replied in agreement.

Rory waited a beat, expecting there to be a little more to Lorelai's statement. She realized quickly that there wasn't. "You okay?" Rory asked quickly.

Lorelai began to play with a blade of grass. "I'm great, Honey," she answered. She laughed briefly. "Just thinking about my beautiful Tadashi top that you have yet to return and how it must be feeling as it lays crumpled on the floor."

"Blasphemy. For your information, Paris took care to toss _it_ on the bedpost," Rory defended.

"Well, I must remember to thank her on my next visit."

Rory laughed before responding in like. Lorelai listened and commented but was inwardly glad that she was able to divert attention from what was really on her mind.

When she and Rory hung up from one another, Lorelai placed her phone on the side of her thigh as she sat indian-style on the ground. She propped both hands on her knees and tucked her hands under her chin as she looked thoughtfully into the distance. She did this for a long while before dropping her eyes to the tuffet.

This was something that she had done on this day for about seven years now. This year, though, was supposed to be a little different. But, it remained the same, her with her thoughts alone on this day.

As she looked at the ground, she noticed a shadow fall over her and the area. She didn't look up immediately, but when she did, she was unable to hide her surprise.

"Luke, what are you doing here?" She looked up at him in disbelief.

He looked down at her and smiled before looking around the area and releasing a sigh. He took a seat next to her. "Nice day for a walk, don't you think?" He joked.

She looked away from him and at the ground once again. "Look who's in a better mood," she replied flatly.

He looked at her profile for a moment. "Lorelai, I'm sorry, okay? I was a jerk."

She looked at him. "How were you a jerk?" She asked.

He smiled. "Are you reaching?"

She didn't smile but regarded him momentarily. "No, I just want to know what you mean," she said seriously.

He rolled his eyes, mainly at himself. "I have been in a mood all day, and I don't even know why. It happens sometimes. You came in, and I may have...jumped at you a little bit." Lorelai said nothing but continued her stare. "A lot?" He asked, waiting on confirmation.

She smiled. "It's fine. No harm, no foul."

He somehow got a little upset at how easily she accepted his apology. "I was wrong, Lorelai. You weren't even being annoyingly goofy, and I brushed you off like I had a right to do that. I'm sorry."

She continued to smile as she looked down to her hands. "Well, I can underst--"

"Unh Unh," he cut in. "You aren't about to try to make me feel better about this." She only smiled wider as she continued to look down. "It took me about ten seconds after you left to realize that you seemed like you really wanted to talk..." He looked at her searchingly to see any signs of objections, but she said or did nothing to suggest any. He continued. "So, if you still want to, I'm here."

She looked up to him in that moment. "What about the diner?"

"I'll open back up a little later," he said.

Her eyes widened. "You closed it?"

"Well, I was the only one there, so I didn't have a choice."

She sighed. "Luke, you had a choice. You didn't have to close it for me."

He was silent until she looked up at him. "I didn't have a choice that was good enough, then," he stated. For some reason even she didn't know, she blushed in the next moment following his statement. It was probably due to his fixed gaze. "Did I mention I was sorry?" He asked.

"Yeah, you might have said something to the effect," she replied teasingly. She looked back into the distance, and they sat quietly for a moment. "How on earth did you know where I was?" She asked looking back at him.

"I didn't," he said. "I called the inn, and you weren't there. I called then went by your house. Nothing. So I started walking around town looking for you. After it seemed like I looked everywhere twice, something just told me to check over this way."

"Instinct?" She asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Something. I didn't say it was instinct. Maybe it was the process of elimination."

Lorelai laughed. "Oh, don't fight it, Luke. We're linked, you and me. I get missing, and you can sniff me out like a bloodhound."

"That's not instinct. You're saying that I can smell you?"

Lorelai released a breath. "Well, when you say it like that, it sounds stupid."

"I think it'll have the same result no matter how I say it. Sorry to say."

She smiled and looked briefly around before her eyes fell back to him. "So, are you, um, wondering why I'm here?"

He twisted his lips and shrugged. "A few questions come to mind." Lorelai paused and took the time to look at him. Luke turned to her also, and he shifted his eyes a bit. "You don't have to tell me, you know. I just came to tell you I was sorry in person, but I can go."

"I don't want you to go," she said quickly. "I'm glad you're here."

Luke turned around briefly, taking in the somewhat dilapidated tool shed structure behind the two of them. "Are you really?" He asked hesitantly as he looked to her once again.

Lorelai unleashed a tiny smile. "Yeah, I think I am," she replied nodding.

Luke smiled at her answer and shook his head as he regarded her. "Well, I _think_ I'm happy to be here, then." She smiled fully. "I'll get back to you with my complete answer later."

She didn't respond to his comment, but instead looked to be going into thought about other things. This was shown when she responded with a simple, "Good." Luke looked at her and narrowed his eyebrows with temporary worry before thinking it best not to scare her into regret for sharing something with him. Though he figured it was something that others, mainly Rory, knew already.

"Did you know," she began almost playfully like she was the new voice for the shooting star. She continued softer with a little more vulnerability, "That this is an anniversary of sorts for Rory and me?"

Luke shook his head after thinking about what she could mean and coming up with nothing. She smiled nervously. "Well, it is," she nearly whispered leaning toward him some. "It was seven years ago today that I was able to buy our house and give Rory a real home."

"That's nice," he replied softly.

Lorelai smiled. "It's more than that, actually. It was the first time that I really felt like I could do it, be a good mother to Rory without feeling like I was depriving her." Luke stared at her as he wondered when and why she had ever felt that way. She caught his look, but continued on anyway. "I really try not to feel all emotional when this day rolls around, but every single year at the strike of midnight, it never fails. I just start thinking. Not that I ever saw leaving my parent's house as a mistake, but I'm not completely oblivious to the fact that I wasn't in ideal circumstances."

Luke had been silent, listening intently to her words and how they came out. In her pause, he found himself replying, "You did great with the situation you were in. I doubt Rory ever felt deprived, Lorelai. Not with you as a mother."

Her lips turned upward as she looked at him sideways. "You're great, you know that?" A smile appeared on his face as he glanced away. She smiled fully at getting him to nearly blush before she responded to what he'd said. "Rory means everything to me. I hope that she doesn't look back on that time with shame or disappointment, but in all honesty, I'm not brave enough to ask her and hear her answer."

He shook his head. "That's--"

"Rory doesn't know I come here year after year. She doesn't even know that I see this day as being profound." She looked at him and took in his look of surprise. "Nobody knows."

"Oh," he said quietly, still with a look of shock.

She smiled. "This morning when I came to the diner, I wanted to talk to you." She paused. "I was finally about to talk to somebody."

"To me?" He asked pointing to himself. She nodded, becoming more relaxed with each passing moment. He stabbed at himself harder. "To _me_?" He asked again.

Lorelai laughed and nodded again. "Yes, to you, Luke. Why not you?"

Luke closed his eyes, trying to get his thoughts straight. "Okay, so just to kinda clarify, you came in the diner this morning looking for me, _Luke_, to tell me, _Luke_, something that you haven't told anyone yet, not even Rory?"

"Why is that so hard to believe? You're acting like you're my arch enemy or something."

Luke seemed to be in his own world for a minute. "Wow, that's-that's big."

She looked at his profile. "It's huge," she said quietly. He turned and looked at her.

"You know it's okay, right? That you told me. It's okay. I won't--"

"I know," she interrupted. "Of course I know."

He continued to look at her. "Okay, I, uh, I'm here." He suddenly felt the weight of all types of potential for letting her down in some way. "I'm listening. So, you..can, uh, talk...or whatever."

She smiled and reached over, removing a small leaf that had floated onto his leg. She looked down at it and folded it between her fingers. "Can you just sit here with me for a while?" She asked.

"As long as you want," he answered quickly, trying to live up to the responsibility he felt had been placed upon him.

"Thanks, Luke."

He nodded and tried his best to relax. It took a while, but eventually he did allow himself to settle into the tranquility of the environment. He would look over at Lorelai occasionally and see her with a small smile on her lips as she looked down. She would look at him also, and see him seeming to become one with his own thoughts. That's when the smile would appear, and that's what Luke would see traces of when he looked to her.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

In years past, Lorelai would go out to the rear of the Independence Inn, and for a small amount of time, she would sit next to the tool shed that she'd once called home. One hour is the most that she'd ever spent out there. When the Inn was open for business, she'd still spend time alone in that location. Though, the occasional tourist would wander by on a mid-day stroll, she still considered herself to be in seclusion. Mainly due to her knowledge that no one she knew would venture out that way.

This year, though, she had spent it with Luke. For two hours, she spent that time with him. Barely a word had been spoken, save for the conversation that took place at his arrival and the small amount of words spoken when they left to tend to their respective job duties--ones that'd been placed on pause.

Though Lorelai had taken the day off, she still had gone in for a few hours to handle some inn business.

She, now, sat in her living room as she looked confusedly at her fireplace. Her eyes had wandered over that way, and she tried hard to remember the last time she had had it cleaned. She hardly ever used it, so she figured it was okay when she realized that Luke had been the one to clean it four years ago. She shrugged hugely and settled herself against the sofa. She tried to recall what she had said to convince Luke to clean the sooty fireplace, but she knew it was a longshot to be able to remember such randomness.

Lorelai thought it slightly strange that her mind wasn't being bombarded with thoughts that made her sad. She was feeling settled, and though that was the air that she carried around with her and showed off to others, that was the opposite of how she normally felt on this calendar date. It was foreign to her but familiar and welcoming at the same time. Night was quickly approaching, and unlike preceding years, she wasn't ready to shut off the world while burying herself under massive amounts of blankets.

She was wanting to not be alone at the moment. It took her a while to realize what it was she was wanting because it was new. On this day, such a feeling was most definitely new. Jason Stiles popped into her mind, and she remembered the open invitation that he had given her. She closed her eyes as she tried to recall his number. She'd had it somewhere in her memory since she'd called it so many times after her catering cancellation.

Standing up, she rubbed gently at her neck as she made her way over to her cordless phone. She took it off the base and turned to sit on the stairs. She punched in some numbers and placed the phone to her ear, waiting for an answer.

An instant smile lit up her features as soon as he picked up.

"Hey, it's me."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai opened the door.

"Sorry, I got here as soon as I could," he said as he held up his hands in apology.

She smiled hugely. "It's fine, Luke. I told you over the phone that it wasn't anything important."

"Yeah, I know," he said as he stepped past her, "but I still didn't mean to take..." He looked down at his watch. Lorelai looked where his eyes dropped too, but was already able to finish his statement.

"Fifteen minutes," she said chuckling. "It's only been fifteen minutes since we both hung up."

"That's it?" He asked frowning.

"Fifteen measly minutes, Mr. Gonzales." She smiled as his eyes rolled far into his head. "I hope you didn't kick everyone out of the diner this time," she said jokingly as she closed the door.

"I'm sure they had places to be anyway," he deadpanned as he walked into her living room.

"Please tell me you're joking," Lorelai said as she went to face him.

He looked back at her seriously. "No."

Lorelai dropped her head into her hands. "Oh my god, Luke, you're going to go out of business because of me."

"Don't be so dramatic. I wouldn't have done it if that was the case." He paused, and his voice softened. "Besides, I figured you may have wanted to talk...about something," he said uncomfortably.

Lorelai rolled her eyes as a small smile played at her lips. "You're not going to treat me like a head case from now on, are you?"

His eyes widened. "No, I'm not- that's not what I meant- I was just assuming- I mean, of course I don't think you're--"

"Luke, I was joking. Breathe," she said touching his arm. His skin had flushed in a matter of seconds as he looked to the floor. "I just wanted to see you," she said calmly as a smile came through. "Is that okay?" The idea of calling Jason Stiles fled her mind as soon as her thoughts drifted to Luke.

His only response was a nod.

"Good," she said. "You can have a seat if you want." She began walking into the kitchen as she yelled back to him. "I ordered some pizza so it'll be here in a little while. You want something to drink?"

Luke sat down on the couch, sighing deeply. He hadn't known exactly why she had asked him over. Therefore, he didn't know how long he would end up being there. With mention of pizza, he got comfortable as he realized it would probably be a while. He yelled an answer back to her. "Yeah, if you have some water, that'll be good."

She came back in the living room a few moments later. "You're in luck. The springs were ripe for scooping. I called Jill, she called Jack, and said something about a hill. Hopefully, the child labor people don't find out because they really do bottle the best H2O." She sat next to him. "Here you go," she said extending a bottle out to him.

"Thanks," he said as he took it from her.

Lorelai smiled fully and sat back against the cushions before twisting off her own bottle cap and taking a drink of water. Luke tapped his against his knee absentmindedly. He looked over at her. "So...?" He asked quietly. She looked back to him, a tentative smile appearing on her lips.

"I am starving. I've barely eaten anything all day long," she drawled out dramatically. "What about you? You can stay and eat, right?" She asked with poorly concealed hope.

Luke looked at her before breaking out in a reassuring smile. "Of course I can stay. I was just hoping that you'd clue me in on the artery clogging pizza toppings I'd have to pick off."

She grinned. "Don't worry, I ordered two pizzas."

"I'm not going to eat an entire pizza, Lorelai."

She gave him an incredulous look. "Who said one was for you?" She smiled as he shook his head exhaustedly. "One's supreme, and the other is half veggie, half supreme."

"You're going to eat one and a half pizzas?"

She shrugged. "Not necessarily. I thought maybe I could force feed you some of the good stuff. Besides, I didn't really want to sit there looking at a..." She playfully gagged, "...whole pizza of...veggie-tables," she said over-pronouncing the word. "Ugh. It's just unnatural."

"I'm really going to miss you when you die at forty-five from a heart attack."

Lorelai leaned into him and hugged his arm. "Luke, I would miss you, too," she said happily. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "I'm glad we can finally express our sentiments to one another. Even though--" The doorbell sounded, but she continued, "it took mention of a hea--"

"Lorelai, go get the door," he stated, trying not to show his true amusement.

She laughed and stood up. "Okay, but we are so not finished this conversation yet." He started to laugh, and she hit the side of his leg playfully and went to the front door to get the pizza.

Once Lorelai had the pizzas, she turned on the television and flipped from station to station, all the while asking Luke what he wanted to watch. He kept saying that it didn't matter, but Lorelai didn't want to settle on something that only she would enjoy. She passed the channel for ESPN, and her eyes fell to Luke, and she saw him take sudden interest in it. She set the remote down near him and picked up a slice of pizza.

He looked at her. "No, we don't have to watch this," he said.

She smiled, taking more interest in her pizza slice. "It's okay. Really."

Luke gave her a thankful smile that she didn't catch because she was busy studying her pizza trying to uncover some of its mysteries.

For as long as Lorelai could remember, she had wondered if ever she would meet somebody, fall in love, and find her middle. That was the gist, but in the world of Lorelai, that could be summed up in one simple act. She had always wondered if anyone would ever mean enough to her to where she would have no problem handing over the remote control. Such a simplistic, trivial act to most, but to Lorelai, it meant so much more. It was just her luck that when it happened, not only would it be with one of her closest friends, but she would miss the chance to dissect the meaning because of a stupid pizza slice.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"What are you doing?" Luke asked calmly as he stared at her feet with a small smile.

She laughed and wiggled her toes. "I wanted to stretch out on the sofa, but since you're on it, I had to improvise." Both of her feet rested in his lap.

He sniffed the air and looked down the sofa at her. "Who knew improvisation could be so pungent?" He laughed as she hit him lightly in the stomach with her foot.

"My feet do not stink," she said smiling.

"I don't mind, by the way. Thanks for asking. Just go ahead and make yourself comfortable," he said quickly in a shell of sarcasm.

"Thanks," came her genuine response.

She dropped her head on the arm of the couch and folded her arms over her stomach. An announcer continued to talk on the tv in a manner that, to Lorelai, was so easily ignorable. Her eyes closed as an old Cindy Lauper song popped into her mind. When she felt Luke touch her toes, she looked down toward him. He looked from her feet to her. His fingers still grazed her toes.

"Do you change your polish to match your outfits?" He asked curiously.

She smiled. "Looking for some advice, Luke?"

"Would it kill you to answer a question straight out?" She nodded with animation like a small child. He rolled his eyes and continued. "It just seems like a lot of unnecessary work to me. I can understand fingernails, but your toes?"

She laughed. "It's a lot of grooming, but it's all a part of being a woman. Work, work, work." He sighed, returning attention back to her perfectly pedicured toenails. "And," she continued, "It's worth it in the end. You guys look at things like that, whether you admit it or not."

He scoffed. "Not me. What do I care about some woman's toenail color?"

"You tell me," she said raising her foot up to his eye level. He pulled his head back some and wrapped his hand loosely around her foot bringing it back down. She giggled. "That tickles," she said.

He gave her a slow, evil smile, and she shook her head. "Don't even think about it," she replied, already starting to laugh. His demeanor suggested retreat, and he smiled hard at her as his eyes fell back to her feet. He pressed one of his palms onto the top of her foot and the other onto the bottom and rubbed quickly with little pressure in a playful way.

Lorelai's laughter fell to a wide smile, and she looked down to him, her eyes falling briefly to where he continued to rub her foot, his actions becoming less playful and more intentional. She looked back in his face, and his eyes were fixed on her feet. He glanced up at the television before picking up the remote and flipping to the Movie Channel. He pushed the remote her way and glanced at her, her eyes still fixed on him. "I don't know what this is, but since you seem to know every movie ever made, you'll probably appreciate it," he said, returning his hands back to its previous task.

She tore her eyes away from him toward the tv. _Waiting to Exhale _was playing, and indeed, Lorelai had seen it many times before. Luke's hands rubbed tenderly about her foot, easing strain that she hadn't known was present. If someone were to ask her how she was feeling as she lay there, it would have been nearly impossible for her to put into words the level of contentment mixed with satisfaction. She was a little afraid to look at him for fear that he would question the way she would probably look at him. What's more, she was afraid to look at him for fear that she would have her own questions.

"So," she heard Luke begin, "What's this about anyway?"

She smiled as she found a safe place to direct her thoughts. "Well, it's starring Whitney Houston." He said nothing, waiting for her to continue. "_The singer_.." He looked down at her.

"I know who Whitney Houston is," he said flatly.

"Oh. Well, nod or something," she teased. "Anyway, it's her, Angela Bassett, Loretta Divine, and Lela Rochon, and they're all like best friends or whatever. The movie is basically about them _or their characters, rather_--going around trying to find that guy that...makes them exhale, I guess. They're trying to find happiness and a man that's _the one_. It's really good. It's almost ten years old, but I swear I still watch it like it's my first time seeing it."

He took in what she had just said to him and summed it up promptly. "So, it's a chick flick," he stated matter-of-factly.

"It's about love, laughter, friends, and relationships. How can you poss--" She took in his dubious expression and acquiesced weakly, "It's a chick flick." He gave her a _'thought so' _look before smiling and returning attention to the movie. His hands moved slowly over different areas of her feet. Lorelai looked down and watched his hands work for a while. She looked at him once more before smiling wide, then looking back at the screen.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai didn't want to take up the bulk of Luke's day. She would ask him every so often if he was okay or bored with her (or in other words, ready to go), and he'd wave off her question and continue to sit comfortably. His response would cause her internal happiness because she really didn't want him to go.

Her head, now, lay in the crook of his arm as his arm rested on the top of the couch. She had gotten up to go to the restroom, and when she returned, she sat close to him and lay against him playfully. He didn't react how she had expected by moving away, and after trying and failing at getting him to react, she just got comfortable and settled into that position.

She felt Luke's shoulder raise up, nudging her head a bit. "You sleep?" He asked.

"Nope. You?"

There was a pause that caused Lorelai to smile fully because she could sense the look he was giving her above her head. "Yes, Lorelai, I'm sound asleep," he replied sarcastically.

"Smart ass." He chuckled lightly. "Are you watching tv?" She asked.

"Mmm-mmm," he mumbled.

"Me either," she said. While she and he both _were_ watching the tv, they weren't paying it any attention. Their minds drifted on various things.

Luke began to squirm as he went into a stretch, but Lorelai didn't bother moving as he did so. He settled back down, and she felt his hand come down on the top of her head lightly as he lazily drug his fingers through her hair.

Lorelai closed her eyes and smiled. She looked back toward the screen. "Luke?" She called.

"Yeah," he asked, using his fingers to soothe her scalp.

"I'm glad I told you."

He smiled. "Me too," he said softly.

That brief moment of truthfulness faded into the background as Lorelai began a playful tapping against his thigh. She did this repeatedly as if she was being relied upon to provide a steady beat for an imaginary band. "Having fun?" Luke asked after about the eightieth tap.

"Yep," she said shortly.

"Well, as long as you're having fun," he said looking down to where her fingers steadily hit.

She moved her hand up to his stomach and let her hand rest there momentarily before she began her tap again. Luke shook his head. She tapped a few times before stopping and moving her hand up against him. "You have abs," she said with slight shock.

"What?" He asked with amusement.

She didn't bother lifting her head to look at him, but her hand pressed lightly against him. "You have definition...in your stomach," she said.

"Do I? Hmm, weird."

She paid his bland cynical reply no attention as she moved her hand up to his chest. She drew in an exaggerated breath. "Why do you wear so much flannel, you _cruel, cruel _man?"

"What am I supposed to wear?" He asked as if Lorelai's hand moving up his body was a normal occurrence.

"Ooh, how about a muscle shirt?"

"Ooh, how about '_no'_?" He responded.

She tilted her head to look at him. "I mean, I can feel it through this thick flannel. That's some serious muscle mass."

He looked down to her hand, then at her. "What exactly are you doing?" He asked of her hand movement.

She smiled playfully. "Why? Am I turning you on?" She asked as she moved her hand up near his neck.

_'You're doing something,' _Luke thought. He brought his hand up and placed it on top of hers. "You want to see something?" He asked lifting an eyebrow.

She sat up some. "Why, Luke, are you proposing that y--"

"Please shut up," he said as he sat up fully. Lorelai laughed and lifted herself completely off of him. He started to unbutton his flannel shirt, and she looked at him in shock.

"Uh, Luke, you kn--"

"Remember the polite request for your silence?" He looked at her, a smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. He finished unbuttoning his shirt. "Calm down," he said, "I just..." He pulled off the shirt and lifted the sleeve of his undershirt, "I just wanted to show you this," he finished, turning so she could see his tattoo.

Her jaw dropped. "Son of a Bono, you have a tattoo!" Luke laughed, looking down at it himself. "How have I never known that?" She asked.

"I don't know. It's about 25 years old, though. Got it as a kid."

She began to trace it with her fingers. "I would have never guessed this about you, Luke. This is amazing." She stared it for a moment. "What is it...exactly?"

He laughed again. "That's a good question," he said still laughing.

Lorelai smiled widely at his thorough amusement which she wasn't entirely sure she had witnessed before. "You have a tattoo, and you don't even know what it is?"

He let go of his sleeve, and Lorelai's hand moved to hold it up. "Hey, the cool kids didn't ask questions. You just _did_."

She chuckled, still looking at it. "So, it was like a 'drink the kool-aid' kind of thing."

"Oh, no. I was the only one that got one. I was drawing in class one day---"

"Doodling."

"Whatever," he said rolling his eyes at her. "And, this came out. It looked cool, so I decided---"

"To scar your body for life with it," she finished knowingly.

"You sound just like my mother when she found out."

Lorelai's voice softened. "She didn't like it?"

He paused, a smile on his face like he was remembering. "She hated it."

Lorelai didn't want to bring any sadness into the conversation so she tried to move quickly from the subject of his mom. "Well, I'm sure I won't sound anything like her when I tell you how unbelievably sexy this is."

He released a loud breath. "How is a tattoo sexy? It's ink on skin. You have a thing for Bic, too?"

She raised her voice slightly. "You know, most men, when told they look sexy accept the damn compliment! But, no, not Luke. Luke has to make inappropriate pen references."

He smiled widely as he regarded her. "I look _sexy_, now?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes at him, but found herself falling victim to a smile seconds later. She looked back to his arm. His sleeve had fallen covering his tattoo. "Look at your arm," she said feeling his bicep that wasn't even flexed. "This is ridiculous. Why do you even wear clothes?" She asked genuinely.

He looked at her and shook his head. "I guess I'm a rebel."

Lorelai chuckled, still looking at his upper body through the thin shirt. "Well,_ rebel_," she said, accentuating the word, "put your shirt back on. I don't want you to lose your title on my account."

Luke grabbed his shirt and stood up to put it back on. He looked over at the clock on her desk as he fixed his collar. "Alright, I think I'm gonna take off. I have to be up in a few hours."

Lorelai leaned up and looked at the clock also. It was six past midnight. She looked at the time for a moment in thought before she looked up at Luke. She smiled broadly.

He stood buttoning his shirt. "And you are looking at me like that, why?"

She stood up and folded her arms. "You so did that on purpose," she said softly with an impossible to contain gleam in her blue eyes.

"Okay, it's obvious you're a little delirious, so you better get to bed." He looked around her to the couch to make sure he had everything.

She continued on. "I kept seeing you looking over there throughout tonight, but I didn't pay it any attention." She shook her head, smiling wider, "I can't believe I didn't figure it out."

"You know, the sooner you get to bed, the sooner this fog will lift from your brain."

She ignored him. "You were waiting until midnight, weren't you?" She asked rhetorically. "You sat with me all this time because you didn't want me to be alone on this day." She looked down to her feet. "Why did I not see that sooner?"

"Lorelai, psychiatry is a wonderful field, and they cater to people just like you. Get some sleep or I'm recommending somebody."

Lorelai looked to him, her eyes boring into his as she smiled. She walked slowly over to him, uncrossing her arms as she reached them up around his neck. "You're great," she whispered in his ear before she pulled back some and gave him a light kiss on the neck.

He hugged her back lightly, and Lorelai could feel him shaking his head. His voice was dull when he spoke. "Don't know what you're talking about, but if this'll get you into bed..."

Lorelai stepped back with a slight giggle. "That was dirty," she said quietly with a bowed head.

He exhaled loudly. "It's too late for _dirtys_," he commented playfully. He looked at her until she looked up and met his gaze. "I'll see you later on, okay?" He said deeply.

"Of course," she said.

He smiled and moved toward the door. "Oh, and Lorelai?" He asked turning back. She gave him her attention. "Next time, can you wash your feet? You know, as a courtesy?"

She laughed. "My feet do not stink!" She yelled toward him as she picked up a pillow and threw it at him. By the time it made it over toward him, though, he was out of the door. It hit the door and fell to the floor in the foyer.

Luke made it outside and stopped at the top step as his smile slowly dwindled away. He looked upward toward the sky and brought his hands to his cap, sighing deeply. He looked back at the house and smiled slightly again before turning around and heading home.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

The following day was actually welcomed by Lorelai. She got up, got herself ready, and was off to the inn with no worries other than what lie on her plate at the Dragonfly. She was off to a slightly later start than she had intended since she spent a while longer in the shower. Originally, she'd wanted to spend a while eating breakfast as Luke's. The lack of time, however, only allowed her a short drop-in for a cup of to-go coffee.

She'd seen Luke when she came in, and she found herself smiling goofily when he winked an eye at her and handed her a to-go cup before she'd even opened her mouth. She had told him the night before what time she had to be at work, so he knew after twenty 'til that if she came in, it would be to grab coffee and go. He saw her walking quickly toward the diner at ten 'til, and he filled up a styrofoam cup.

Lorelai grabbed the coffee and got her purse ready to get some money out, but Luke waved her away telling her to hurry up before she was late. After giving him a grateful smile, she was off to begin her day.

Having had no real time to spend with him earlier in the day, Lorelai already knew where she would end up at night's end. She was having an extreme desire to see and talk to Luke, and she figured it was because of all the time they'd spent together the day before.

She made it there just as he had locked the door for the night. She hopped up the single step and knocked briskly on the door as he walked back toward the counter. He turned and saw her looking through the still open blinds with a small pout.

He turned back and walked toward the door. "Can I help you?" He asked her through the door.

"Luke, open the door," she whined while bouncing slightly.

"I've closed. Go home," he said, a smile tugging at his lips.

"If you don't open this door, I'm gonna...I'm gonna..." Her eyes shifted around, looking for a threat to complete her sentence.

"You're gonna do what? Stand out there? Ooh, scary."

"Luuu-huu-huu-kuh, I want some coffeeeeeeee!"

He shook his head and took off the deadbolt. He opened the door. "You should be studied," he mumbled.

She released a small breath and placed her hair behind her ears. "Thank you. You made the right choice," she said with maturity as she made her way around him.

"I knew I should have flipped the blinds," he said as he locked the door back and started to close them all.

"You were waiting on me. You couldn't bring yourself to close them just yet," she teased.

"Yeah, okay," he said dismissively. He walked back around the counter once everything was secure. "Productive day today?"

"Always. And now it's time to reward myself with coffee."

"No coffee."

"And maybe a cheeseburger."

"Definitely no cheeseburger. Grill's already been cleaned."

"Then, why exactly am I here?"

"It's like you're reading my thoughts," he said.

"Luke, get out of de-nial. You're going to drown." He flipped off the lights in the kitchen and came back out to where she was. "I can't have coffee, food--"

"I didn't say no food. I said no cheeseburger. I have a couple of side salads back there for you to eat if you're hungry."

"No food," she said strongly, "Can I at least have some conversation?"

He looked around, satisfied that he'd gotten almost all work done before officially closing. "Now,_ that _you can have," he said coming around the counter to sit next to her on the stool. He faced the dining area as he leaned back on his elbows, and Lorelai faced the counter.

"You doin' okay?" He asked with nonchalance.

She smiled as she looked down to her fingers. "I'm fine. Happy," she said quietly. She knew he was referring to yesterday, and she wondered if always Luke had had the ability to see her and communicate with her in ways that made her feel so free to be open.

"Good," he responded with a satisfied nod. "You should feel that way. About everything you've done," he added confidently. She looked up at him, and he looked at her with a serious expression before glancing away and clearing his throat. "So, what's with the clothes?" He asked loudly, with a half-smile as he looked back to her outfit.

She looked down. It took her a moment to get on board with the abrupt subject change, but she managed a smile looking back to him. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing. You're colorful. Lively," he said of her multi-colored low dip top and and dark skirt that hit her inches above the knees.

She jumped up, smiling like she had a hanger in her mouth. "You like?" She asked walking out a bit and hitting several spins.

"You wore it to work?" He asked looking at her attire as she spun about.

"Well, duh, I had it on when I came in here this morning on my _way_ to work." He smiled. "Do you think it's slutty? I had a small debate about that before leaving the house this morning."

"No, but it's cutting it close," he joked.

"Mr. Funny Man, huh?" She laughed. "Okay, I'll give you one freebie. Another and I'll be forced to mutilate you," she added with feigned seriousness. She looked down at herself. "I was in a good mood this morning, so I didn't feel like wearing anything boring."

"Well, you did a good job of avoiding that."

Her response was a wide grin. She looked at him for a while, still smiling. "What's wrong with your neck?" She asked, pointing at it briefly.

He rubbed it again, something he'd been doing all day since his three and half hours of sleep. He had to get up even earlier to clean what he hadn't the day before. "I slept wrong last night. It's feeling better, though," he said as he rolled his neck.

"You poor baby," she said, really feeling bad for his pain. She broke out in another grin. "You want me to massage it for you?"

"Do you even know how to massage?"

"Sure," she said shrugging.

"No thanks," he answered dully.

"Oh, come on, Luke, it'll make you feel so much better," she said moving quickly over to him.

"What are you doing?" He asked with inflection. She placed a knee on the stool next to him and pushed him upward as she lifted herself to sit on the counter behind him. She crossed her legs to the side of his body so that he'd be able to lean into her. It would work better if she spread her legs, but since she wore a skirt, that wasn't really an option. He remained leaning forward uncomfortably.

"Lean back," she told him.

"What are you doing?" He asked again. "Does this seem normal to you?"

"It seems perfectly normal. Now, don't be frightened," she said playfully, "Leeeean back." She gripped his shoulders lightly and pulled him into position.

He leaned back hesitantly before giving into her request. He released a breath. "Being friends with you, a person just has to be ready for anything, don't they?"

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor here, Bub. I'm a very caring individual," she said as she began to knead at his shoulders with no technique.

He chuckled at the feeling. "A caring _amateur_," he mumbled.

"This is just the beginning. The beginning's usually a little rough," she said trying to change up her movements.

"It doesn't have to be," he said evenly. Lorelai smiled but wasn't given enough time to comment with a_ 'dirty'_. He dipped his head some as she worked her hands. "See, you're going a little too fast," he said softly. She stopped, then started back going extremely slow. "Too slow," he said smiling. She smiled over his head too as she sped up just a little. "Okay, that's good." He closed his eyes. "That's perfect, actually."

Lorelai's smile slowly disappeared, and her hands continued to move against him. "Mm. Right there--no, back--okay--." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Okay, forget everything I've ever said about--ow."

"I'm sorry, did I--"

"No, it's fine. That was a good 'ow'," he said quickly.

Lorelai brought her hands back up to his shoulders since she'd dropped them thinking she had hurt him. She took a small breath and continued her impromptu massage. She was happy that she was able to assist Luke with this problem, but his apparent enjoyment was making her want to continue even more. About a million dirty comments ran through her mind throughout, but she had a serious focus that, coincidentally, was brought about by the same things that initiated the dirty comments.

"Luke," she said quietly after several long minutes of massaging.

"Yeah," he answered, his head hanging slightly.

"Is your neck feeling better?" She asked leaning around him to see his face.

"Yeah, it feels great," he said not lifting his head.

Lorelai paused and found herself smiling. "And yet I'm still rubbing," she said, not bothering to stop.

He smiled. "Stop and you die," he commented playfully.

Her laughter was interrupted by the diner's phone. Luke grunted an unappreciation of the interruption before getting up to answer it. "Luke's, we're closed." Pause. "We close at ten." Pause. "We close at ten every night. It's nothing new." Pause. "Six." Pause. "Yes, six o' clock we will open...just like every other morning," he said with contained annoyance. "Whatever, bye," he said before hanging up.

"Who would--"

"Kirk."

"Never mind," Lorelai said, wringing her hands together.

Luke breathed deeply, walking languidly back over to where Lorelai still sat on the counter. He stopped in front of the stool he'd been occupying. "I appreciate the..." He pointed to his neck, "...massage."

"It was my pleasure," she said. Luke stared softly into her face, and she smiled, shying away from his gaze. "Well, uh, let me..." She fidgeted around a bit as she tried to determine the most logical way for removing herself from atop the counter. "Um---"

"Oh, sorry," Luke said moving over toward her. Lorelai smiled and reached her hand out to him expecting him to take it, using it as a way to guide her to the floor. Instead, he moved even closer, placing both his hands on her sides. She yelped as he lifted her up and placed her down on her feet.

"Thank...you," she said nearly unable to speak from Luke's body proximity. He hadn't backed up at all since he'd lifted her to the floor.

He looked into her eyes. "You're welcome."

Her eyes fell to his chest as he breathed quickly. She looked back into his face, finding that his eyes had drifted lower since she caught them moving upward as hers did. Her breathing was erratic, and Luke's eyes allowed her no time to get it under control.

"Forget it," she said as she leaned up. He moved at the same moment she did, and it resulted in the crashing of both their lips. Luke moved them both back, pushing her hard against the counter. Lorelai drew in a breath from the somewhat painful contact with the counter's edge. He quickly corrected it, pulling her up, and using his fingers to rub her lower back tenderly.

Luke's tongue soon made a move to gain entrance to her mouth, and of course she granted that request with as much fervor as she had to give. Lorelai moved her hands to his buttons where she began to undo them with haste. Everything seemed to come together as each button eased smoothly out of every hole. His flannel came off, then next was his undershirt as she took time to place delicate kisses to his torso. Upon leaning back up, she bit her lip as he brought his hands to her thighs and fluidly lifted her skirt, then her, placing her middle in direct contact with his own briefly as he moved inward to place her back on the countertop.

That skirt was seeming like a better idea every minute.

He put his finger underneath her chin, kissing her passionately for longer than he knew. He pulled back, allowing them both a moment to catch a breath, and also noticing his pants already undone. He looked at Lorelai, a smile about to take over his face, and she looked down at the counter and their surroundings, looking back at him just in time to see the takeover.

"Unsanitary?" She asked of their location.

He looked around too. "Yeah, probably," he stated breathlessly.

She hopped down quickly, grabbing his hand and walking them toward the staircase. The lack of real contact was too much for Luke as he pulled on her hand causing her to turn back to him. A smile barely got a chance to make an appearance on her lips before Luke's took up residence on them.

She brought her arms around his neck, and he walked her back to the stairs. Lorelai ascended the first step, then the second as Luke made it up the first. She lifted her foot to go up the third before there was a silent agreement that they had made it as far as they were going to go. Luke lowered their bodies slowly onto the steps. He reached down and removed her undergarments, not bothering to do the same with the skirt. She leaned her body up toward him, her eyes praising darkness as whimpers of anticipation made its way pass her lips.

Luke slid his pants and boxers down a bit as he lowered his weight onto her, filling her, then placing an arm under her back to take away discomfort from their uneven place of copulation. She wrapped both legs high on his back as he pushed himself deeper into her body. The whimpering turned to moaning, with occassional lapses in breathing as she worked on controlling the depth of her nails on his back.

Considering the level of desire they'd both exhibited, Luke's pace surprised Lorelai as she lay beneath him. Every movement he made was controlled and intentional, as he seemed to care more about her pleasure than what he could gain. So, it was only natural that she start to return the favor.

Neither was fully undressed when it began, but their remaining clothes shed slowly during...piece by piece. They moved from the stairs up to Luke's apartment with no break in connection.

What started out as a rash act of sex (however meaningful), soon turned to slow, generous love making.

Afterwards, they lay together in Luke's bed, a sheen of perspiration giving both their skin a glow.

"Is this weird to you?" Luke asked quietly. He braced himself for Lorelai's honest answer. He knew her well enough to know that she had lots of second and third thoughts about things. It was one of the many things that separated her, and no matter how frustrating it was, it was also one of many things he'd never wish to change about her.

Luke felt her breathing on the skin of his chest. "It's not weird to me," she said in a way that suggested surprise in her own admission. "Is it weird to you?"

"It's not weird to me, either."

She was quiet for a moment. "We had sex," she said softly.

He smiled. It even sounded good when narrated.

She continued. "Luke, the monosyllabic diner guy, and Lorelai the whacky Inn owner did the dirty deed."

This time, he rolled his eyes. "Third person? Really?" He asked blandly.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"And, you'll answer it honestly?"

"I said 'sure'."

"How reassuring."

"Just ask the question," he said trying to sound aggravated. Given his feelings about their recent act, it _hardly_ lived up to its potential.

Lorelai smiled against him. "Last night, did you want this?"

"I wasn't expecting it if that's what you're asking," he said defensively. "That's not why I came."

"I know, Luke," she said quietly. "I'm talking as the night progressed."

She felt his body move as he shrugged. "I don't know." He remembered instantly her request for honesty. "I mean, I guess it's always been there." He was quiet for a moment. "What about you?" He asked.

"It crossed my mind," she answered as she nudged him a little. He smiled.

She wondered if Luke would accept that answer. That's the first one that came to her mind that didn't reveal too much. It wasn't the complete truth by a long shot, but it wasn't a lie either. Luke had said that he supposed that he had always felt something for her. Lorelai _knew_ that something was always there. Whatever doubts she had had melted away as soon as they both had leapt across that fine line. She hugged him tighter as she lay against him. She hoped that he could somehow figure all of this out by the way that she held him, by the way she would undoubtedly look at him in days following, put it together with things she confided only to him. She would tell him eventually, probably sometime soon. It was Luke, and she knew she would want to share that with him.

For now, it seemed enough to give him a half-truth while she would continue to be inwardly delighted by the extent of what she knew.

He hugged her to him and kissed her on the forehead before closing his eyes.

**-The End-**

Until next time.


End file.
